An onion shed was destroyed by fire at Central Produce Distributors in Payette, Idaho.

An intentionally set fire reported late Sept. 25 at a southwest Idaho onion packing facility destroyed one structure and damaged part of another.

Payette City Fire Department crews around 11 p.m. were called to a fully involved structure at Central Produce Distributors, 400 N. Main St., Payette, fire chief Steve Castenada said.

The fire destroyed a three-sided structure and damaged part of an adjacent building, he said. The three-sided structure, between two buildings, was used for pallet storage. The damaged adjacent building has loading docks for trucks and railcars. No one was injured.

Crews cleared the scene around 10 a.m. Sept. 26, Castaneda said. Fire departments from Fruitland and New Plymouth, Idaho, and Ontario, Ore., assisted.

Damages were yet to be determined as of Sept. 26, he said.

“Investigation is ongoing, but the cause has been determined to be arson,” Castenada said.

Payette City Fire and the Idaho State Fire Marshal’s Office in a joint investigation concluded the fire was arson-caused, he said. Payette police are involved in the investigation. The fire marshal’s office will complete a report.

A Central Produce manager could not be reached. An employee said operations were expected to resume Sept. 30.

“My understanding is that Central Produce is able to receive onions at their off-site storage locations” away from the main packing operation, Idaho Onion Growers Association president Jarom Jemmett said. And since southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon have many onion packing operations, “there can be other locations that can pack those onions.”

Onion packers in the area compete with each other “and also work together with each other as we confront issues that face our industry as well as tragedies that occur,” Jemmett said. For example, when some sheds were destroyed and others damaged in the extraordinarily heavy winter of 2016-17, industry participants “worked together as best they could to help move the product.”

The region’s onion marketing season, which traditionally runs through April, started in early August.